Welding gun adapter



Aug. 9, 1949. J. P. CUTRER WELDING GUN ADAPTER Filed De. 15, 1947INVENTOR.

ArroR/vfys Patented Aug. 9, 1949 WELDING GUN ADAPTER John I. Cutrer,Houston, Tex., assignor to Reed Roller Bit Company, Houston, Tex., acorporation of Texas Application December 15, 1947, Serial No. 791,912

(Cl. 2l9-8) 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in semi-automatic weldingmachines and refers more particularly to the weldnor machine gun and theelectrode h-olding conduit of the gun.

In welding guns of welding machines of this type the welding rod isadvanced through the rod holding conduit at a predetermined rate and theoutlet end of the conduit is disposed just within the flux dispensingopening in the gun casing so that the electrode rod extends through theopening. The end portion of the conduit is subject -to rather rapid wearand also in operation the welding rod frequently becomes welded to thetip element. For these reasons it is frequently necessary to changev therod holding conduit of the gun. In order to do this it is necessary todisassemble the gun and to break the silver solder yconnection of theend element from the cable and solder a new element in its place. Thecomplexity of this operation is annoying and is time and laborconsuming.

An object of this invention is to provide a welding gun forsemi-automatic welding machines having a wear tip element for the rodholding conduit that may be readily replaced without dismantling thegun.

Another object is to provide a welding gun for a semi-automatic weldingmachine wherein the rod holding conduit need not be removed from the gunover a prolonged period `of operation.

A further object is to provide an end member which may be secured to theend of an electrode rod holding conduit, the end member adapted toreleasably receive a wear tip element.

Still another object is to provide a tip assembly for an electrode rodholding conduit, made up of a plurality of parts one of which may -besemipermanently secured to the electrode rod and another part of theassembly being releaseably secured to the first of these parts,permitting ready interchanging of the releasable part.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear as thespecification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the instantspecification, are to be read in conjunction therewith, and wherein likereference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views;

Fig. l is a side elevation, with parts shown in section, of a weldinggun embodying this invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view Aot the tip assembly.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 5 designates the welding gun casinghaving a rconnection 6 at its upper end through which iiux may be fedinto the casing. The gun has a lateral tting 'I for receiving theelectrode holding conduit 8. Around the conduit 8, exteriorly of thegun, is an insulated handle 9. The casing has a botton flux dispensingopening IU and at the lower end surrounding this opening is a sleeve l Iwhich is removably secured thereto and held in place upon the casing byfriction. The purpose of this sleeve is to render access to the tipyassembly of the electrode rod conduit.

Having described the major component parts of the gun, which areessentially conventional, reference is now had to the rod holdingconduit wherein the novelty of the invention primarily resides. Theconduit 8 which may be a exible tubing assembly is illustrated as formedof an outer tube I2 which may be of copper and an inner rod holding tubeI3 which preferably is made of steel. It will be observed that the innertube I3 terminates within the casing with its end spaced from the fluxdispensing opening and has a passageway for accommodation of anelectrode rod.

The tip assembly of the conduit 8 is made up of the tubular block I4 andtip element I5. The tubular block I4 may be made of brass and has aportion of reduced external diameter adapted to mate in the lower end oftube I2. Usually it is preferable to silver solder the tubular block I4to the tube as indicated at I6. In this manner the tubular block I4 isrigidly secured to conduit 8 but may be removed therefrom whennecessary.

Wear tip element I5 is releasably secured to the tubular block I4. Thisconnection preferably is provided by the threaded portion I 4a of thetubular block and the corresponding threaded section I 5a of the tipelement.

The tubular block I4 and tip element I5 have a continuous passagewaywhich communicates with the passageway through the inner rod holdingtube I3 to accommodate feeding of the electrode rod through the conduit8. The length of the tip element I5 is sucient to Aabsorb all lateralplay or movement of the electrode rod during use so that substantiallyall wear of the tip assembly takes place in the tip element well belowthe junction of the passageway between the tubular block I4 and elementI5. The element I5 is then subjected only to relative sliding movementof the rod and there is little tendency for wear. However, in use thepassageway adjacent the outlet of tip element I5 will be worn whereby incross section the passageway will become oval or egg shaped adjacent itsoutlet end. When this wear has progressed to an objectionable degree,tip element I5 may be readily released from the tubular block I4 and anew element placed therein.

In operation when it becomes necessary to replace the tip element eitherdue to wear or due to the electrode rod becoming welded to the ele ment,as sometimes occurs, sleeve Il is removed from the casing to provideready access to the til@ element. Due to the releaseable connectionbetween the tubular block I4 and element l5 this connection may beeasily broken and a new tip element releasably secured to tubular blockit. It has Abeen found that in the event the electrode rod Il shouldbecome Welded to the tip element there is suicient flexibility in therod to permit ready release of the tip element lwhere the threadedconnection is used. Then the electrode rod l1 is cut and a new elementl5 is inserted over the rod and tted to the tubular block I4.

It will be seen that'the objects of this invention have beenaccomplished. There has been provided a welding gun adaptable for usewith semieautomatic welding equipment wherein the end element of theelectrode rod-holding conduit mayy be readily interchanged. Thearrangement is such that this change may be made Without requiring theremoval of the rod holding conduit from the gun casing to materiallysave time and effort. The construction is such that the tip assembly hasone part secured to the rod holding conduit in a semi-permanent fashionand a tip element is provided With releasable connection with thismember` It will be understood that certain features and subcombinationsare of utility and may be employedwithout reference to other featuresand subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is Within the scope ofthe claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention Withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not ina limiting sense.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. An electrode rod holder including, a tubular conduit assemblycomprising an outer protective tubing and an inner rod holding tubeextending through the tubing and terminating Short of one end thereof, atubular block secured to the endV of the outer tubing and having areduced; shank insertable within the bore of the outer tubing andadapted to abut the end of the inner rod holding tube, said block havingthe upper end of its bore of substantially the same diameter as the boreof the rod-holding tube and forming a continuation thereof and a tipelement removably connected by threads to the block and having an axialbore communicating and aligned with the upper portion of the bore of theblock and of substantially the same diameter as said upper portion ofthe block bore so that when said element is in connected position thebores of the tip element, block and tube form a continuous passage ofconstant diameter, whereby an electrode rod may extend through the rodholding tube, block and tip element and may project outwardly in advanceof the latter.

2. An electrode rod holder including, a tubular conduit assemblycomprising an outer protective tubing and an inner rod holding tubeextending through .the tubing and terminating short of one end thereof,a tubular block secured to the end of the outer tubing and having areduced shank insertable within the bore of the outer tubing and adaptedto abut the end of the inner rod holding tube, the upper end of the boreof the block. communicating with and being of the same diameteras thebore of the rod holding tube, with the lower end of the block bore beingenlarged and formed With internal threads, and a tubular tip memberhaving its upper portion threaded into the enlarged lower end of thebore of the block and having an axial bore communicating with the upperportion of the bore of the block and with the bore of the inner rodholding tube, the bore of said tip element, the upper portion of thebore of the block and the bore of the inner rod-holding tube forming acontinuous passage of constant diameter, whereby an electrode rod mayextend through the inner tube, block and tip member and projectoutwardly in advance of the latter.

3. An electrode rod holder as set forth in claim 2, wherein the tipmember is of sucient length to take any wear occasioned by lateralstresses on the electrode rod during the welding operation, and therebyprotect the block and inner tube from lateral wear due to said stresses.

JOHN P. CUTRER.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenices are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,853,609 Goodspeed Apr. l2, 19321,875,483 Naylor Sept. 6, 1932 2,068,166 Dodge Jan. 19, 1937 2,211,424Holslag Aug. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 394,773 GreatBritain July 6, 1933

